University of Arizona in the News

The Insurer Aug. 9, 2022
Xubin Zeng: Limited collaboration with academia is slowing development of cat models

University of Arizona professor of hydrology and atmospheric sciences Xubin Zeng discusses what he sees as a lack of collaboration between insurance companies and academia that slows progress in the development of catastrophe modeling tools.
Vox Aug. 9, 2022
How are floods and droughts happening at the same time?

Climate change links recent deadly flooding in Eastern Kentucky to the ongoing drought in Arizona. As the Earth warms, its atmosphere can hold more water vapor, but at a slower rate, resulting in fewer, but more powerful, rainstorms. Higher temperatures also mean less snow, which has historically fed many of the American West's rivers and streams, helping to stave off drought. "This has been a slow-motion crisis for two decades now," said Michael Crimmins, professor of climate science at the University of Arizona. "It's just converging at this moment."
Salon Aug. 6, 2022
How many times can you get reinfected with COVID? Here's what experts say

Unlike summer 2020 – when researchers believed that it was unlikely someone could get the coronavirus twice – so-called re-infections are considered to be the "new normal." Deepta Bhattacharya, associate professor of immunobiology at the University of Arizona who previously co-authored a paper in 2020 that suggested that immunity to COVID-19 lasts "at least several months after SARS-CoV-2 infection," said the answer to how many times a person can get reinfected will depend on how the virus keeps mutating. "It really depends on how much the virus changes and how long it takes for it to change from whatever it was that you were infected with, or got vaccinated against, in the first place," Bhattacharya said.
The Washington Post Aug. 6, 2022
How to ease the transition to college when mental health is a concern

The change to college is stressful for most students. Those with concerns should tap into resources before they even set foot on campus. Jaiden Singh, 20, a rising junior at the University of Arizona who struggles with academic-related stress and anxiety, is a good example of someone who did the necessary prep work before he landed on campus. Singh, who in high school was a member of Active Minds – an organization that works to make talking about mental health on campus as natural as talking about physical health – said the fact that the University of Arizona had an Active Minds chapter was "a key factor" in his choice to attend school there.
Gizmodo Aug. 5, 2022
Astronomers could soon get warnings when SpaceX satellites threaten their view

The rising number of satellites in Earth orbit means astronomers are having to contend with increasingly cluttered skies. Now a tracking device – a small sensor fitted with a camera lens – built by researchers from the University of Arizona will warn astronomers of particularly bright satellites, affording them time to avert their telescopic eyes. "Until now, most photometric – or brightness – observations that were available were done by naked eye," said lead researcher Grace Halferty, an aerospace and mechanical engineering student. "The satellites are challenging to track with traditional astronomical telescopes, because they are so bright and fast-moving."
The Washington Post Aug. 4, 2022
Parkland shooter's defense attorneys cry as victims' parents testify

During Tuesday's sentencing proceedings for Nikolas Cruz, the convicted shooter in the Valentine's Day 2018 massacre at a high school in Parkland, Florida, the defense attorneys were seen crying during the testimony of Fred Guttenberg, the father of a 14-year-old girl killed in the mass shooting. It's rare for attorneys to cry in the courtroom – especially "based on something the other side has said," said Keith Swisher, a professor of legal ethics at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law. With this being "an incredibly overwhelming, heated, and atypical case," it's unlikely to bring negative consequences upon the attorneys, he said. It could lead Cruz to seek new counsel, though, he added.
WIRED Aug. 4, 2022
The origins of COVID-19 are more complicated than once thought

An international team of researchers has confirmed that live animals sold at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, were the likely source of the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed 6.4 million lives since it began nearly three years ago. Led by University of Arizona virus evolution expert Michael Worobey, researchers traced the start of the pandemic to the market in Wuhan, where foxes, raccoon dogs and other live mammals susceptible to the virus were sold immediately before the pandemic began. Their findings were published Tuesday in two papers in the journal Science, after being previously released in preprint versions in February.
CNN Aug. 4, 2022
Near-Earth asteroid has a surface like a fun-house pit of plastic balls

Asteroid Bennu, the target of NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission led by the University of Arizona, kept surprising the mission team while the spacecraft studied the asteroid from a distance. The biggest surprise, however, came when OSIRIS-REx swooped in to grab a sample of material from Bennu and encountered not a solid surface but one that gave way so easily the sampler arm sank 1 1/2 feet into it within seconds.
Nature Aug. 3, 2022
Risk management alone fails to limit the impact of extreme climate events

An analysis of floods or droughts that hit the same place twice shows that using risk management alone does not reduce the effect of extreme events. Beth Tellman, an assistant professor in the School of Geography, Development and Environment in the University of Arizona, writes that addressing the social drivers of hazard impact and equitably is essential.
The Christian Science Monitor Aug. 3, 2022
How to cool cities, from heat officers to pavement sunscreen

Their American Planning Association report published this year explores strategies for curbing urban heat islands – zones that are hotter than outlying areas – and urges paying more attention to heat equity. Ladd Keith, an assistant professor in the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning at the University of Arizona, is interviewed about heat equity, projects to watch and how cooperation is key to heat resilience.